What is the One "Must Have" Knife?

Smaug said:
For me the one I can't go without is a Swiss army knife. Pick your flavor.

For me, it is the Explorer Plus:
Two blades, two openers with screwdriver tips, scissors, magnifier, inline Phillips, corkscrew with eyeglass screwdriver, awl, hook, pen, pin, toothpick and tweezers.

I'll deal with the soft, non-locking blades in exchange for the tools.
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JA5544 said:
There are many that could be on this list, but to stick to the thread I will say an alox Victorinox in a flavor of your choosing.
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To me, an enthusiast “must have” is a gateway product that is universally accessible. SAK and Opinel #6 or 8 are options that anyone can afford, and will accomplish pretty much everything most people are likely to encounter in daily life. There’s a reason they are iconic products that have been around for over 100 years.

There are tons of others that are great knives, but cost so much more than these options that calling them “must haves” is a little silly. There are very few people who “must have” a PM2 or Sebenza, no matter how nice they are. Declaring knives that cost many times more than the gateway options as “must have” for enthusiasts is very much a gatekeeping thing.

Someone can be a car enthusiast without ever owning a $150k Porsche or a $300k Ferrari, but if they don’t appreciate the joy of thrashing a cheap sports car, like a GTI or Miata, on a deserted road, they may not be much of an enthusiast. Cut the costs by 1000x and you’ve got the same relative costs between the $20 SAKs and Opinels, $150 PM2s, and $300 CRKs. If you appreciate knives, you’ll appreciate what SAK and Opinel represent.
 
Spyderco PM2. I've had a lot of great knives over the years and the PM2 and BM 710 M2H2 are the classic EDC pocket knives... for many of us.
 
Buck 110 and 119
Kabar USMC
Case trapper
Morakniv
Opinel #8
Itallian auto stilletto
Quality OTF
ZT 0350
 
Buck 110, Spyderco Paramilitary 2, Spyderco Endura, Manix 2
A Tru Temper 1944 machete, 1940 Luftwaffe gravity knife by SMF.
(Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger-Messer)
All of these are EPIC in their own way.
 
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I think I’d like to try a CPK field knife. Most of my other boxes are checked at this point. That FK has me curious. :thumbsup:
 
I have "a few" modern folders & I like them, but Barlows & stockmans handled 95% of my cutting needs quite nicely for about 50 years before I bought my first modern folder. I'd classify both as "must haves."
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Just one?
OK, the PM2. Not the best in any one category,but close to the best in all categories. Arguably the best edc on the market.
 
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